Superman Complex
by Shaun Garin
Summary: [Post Season 3 Spoilers for Phantom Planet] They say you can never forget the place you were born in. For Danny, it's merely home.


"This is it, the last night we'll be together," said Tucker, not looking up from his PDA that he was messing around with. The three of them, Sam, Tucker and Danny were relaxing on the rooftop overlooking the city from Fentonworks. Two and a half months ago, the trio had graduated from Casper High and spent most of the summer preparing to go to College or University, or as in Sam's case, another country.

Little changed about the trio in terms of cohesiveness since the day Danny Phantom became a international hero and the subsequent months following since; Tucker insisted on getting the newest gadgets, Danny fought ghosts and Sam raged against the machine and continually tried to walk the line of environmentally-friendly saboteur in the name of everything that was ecologically sound.

Physically the trio had changed over the last four years of high school to the day they had graduated. Tucker had grown taller, a little more broad shouldered and he insisted on wearing his beret that was now getting a little threadbare. In terms of clothing, he chiefly wore his brown and green outfits and carried at least five PDAs in his pockets at all times. His penchant for Abraham Lincoln style clothing was strictly reserved for when he was on-duty as Mayor of Amity Park.

Sam hadn't changed much either, save for a few piercing in her bellybutton and her ears; more rebellion against her white-bread-type family that really didn't understand their daughter at all. Black nail polish and violet lipstick still adorned her features and she wore violet and black in a gothic look. The spiked necklace was new, but the most viable change was the several inches in height and, to Sam's frustration, more womanly curves that made even the football team look at her in a way that resulted in a swift kick to the backside. She and Danny were still an item, Sam wearing the ring Danny had given to her when they were still fourteen and now his class ring which had a simple S + D scribbled into the inside of it.

Danny however was the one who changed the most. Athletically he had grown the most, gaining height and very broad shoulders, challenging the fact that he was no longer the weedy kid of fourteen Dash Baxter loved to shove into lockers anymore. He had rapidly shown that he had indeed inherited the Jack Fenton genes and while Danny was thankful he hadn't gained his fathers massive stomach bulge, his shoulders and upper arms were now considered by most people, tree trunks. Fortunately his height had risen to the point that he was easily the same height as his father, something Jazzmine never forgave him for since he was taller than his elder sister now. He was still something of an international sensation, even years past the day he was hailed as the savoir of the world.

"Yeah," said Sam, leaning back and staring into the stars. "Tomorrow we all leave in different directions for University or College."

"I can't believe you made Valedictorian," remarked Tucker for what seemed to them like the umpteenth time. "How is it that no one noticed?"

"What, in our class, it's not hard," said Sam, smirking. "Speaking of our class, did you hear Dash actually applied for the Football Coach TA position?"

Danny stifled a chuckle. "He wants to teach? Man, I would have paid good money to get AWAY from the school, not stay there for another few months."

"So what do we do anyhow," remarked Tucker, turning towards Danny. "It's going to be strange not seeing you flying around town anymore."

"Tucker," warned Danny slightly, his lips upturning into a smirk. "It'll be better if Danny Phantom disappears from Amity for a while at least just until I get my normal life sorted out. Valerie is attending the local community college anyhow so she's got the place covered. And mom and dad are more competent now that they know exactly what I've been fighting for the last four years."

"You certainly picked a good time for it; after saving the world after all. I thought my mom would turn twenty more shades of puce before she let me near you, especially when she realized we were officially an item. Fortunately you're a Rock Star," smirked Sam.

"Yeah. I think my dad wanted your Autograph anyhow," grinned Tucker. "So c'mon, we should at least find something to do before we head out tomorrow morning. Whose up for a little late-night bowling?"

"You two go ahead, I'll be down in a second," said Danny as Tucker and Sam got up.

"Okay, catch ya downstairs," said Tucker.

The door closed behind Fentonworks and Danny heaved a sigh. "It'll be another four years before we see each other again. Sam's going to Australia and Tucker's staying here to remain as mayor, and I'm going to stay with Jazz for a while before going on a world trip. Well, I guess today's the day."

* * *

Superman Complex

Written by Shaun Garin

Danny Phantom is owned and copyright Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon.

* * *

"Manson, in my office now please."

Sam looked up from where she was leaning over her desk and sighed, "Right away Perry." turning towards her companion, she said, "Hold the fort, Jimmy."

"Righto Sam, and it's Gregory, not Jimmy," snarked Greg but Sam merely smiled, patted her co-worker on the head patronizingly and wandered into the Editor's office. Perry sat there and his expression was a little grim.

Since graduating from the Australian University that Sam had attended, she had moved back to Amity Park in order to further her chances at challenging the system, mostly because not many people would. Old Perry White was a friend of the family, one of the few friends that weren't impressed by the luxury the Manson wealth could bring them. Instead he was down to earth, strong and with a sarcastic streak a mile wide. Despite this, Sam loved the old guy like he was her true father, or her grandmother who had never stopped being the rebel she was over the years.

Perry White was part of Amity's old rich blood; his father had spent most of their lifetime working on the Amity Chronicle, the local newspaper that had boomed over the years to gain several more offices across the nation. He was also, a long sufferer of Superman jokes. With a name like Perry White, his family had obviously a cruel sense of humour.

"Okay Perry, what's up? You look like you swallowed a lemon." said Sam, folding her arms across her chest.

In the four years that Sam had grown, she had never stopped growing but resigned herself to be as tall as Jazzmine at the very least. Her hair was pulled down a little more but it was cut short at the front and she wore a simple ponytail that was almost her trademark, as with her black clothing. To maintain a little professionalism she didn't wear any of the bracelets of her senior and University years that were spiked, but she often wore outfits of black in various styles, functional and easy to get around in. No heels for her, she still wore big combat boots that were part and parcel of her rebelliousness. Perry took it in stride.

"I appreciate you getting the latest report on Geotek," said Perry, showing off the headline of "Geotek Corrupt" to her, "But please Sam, try to stay out of trouble. It's a good thing that the Fentons weren't busy and were able to bust you out of that situation."

"Please, that was nothing," said Sam, remembering all of the dangerous ghost situations she had been involved with for years. "I got the story and my teenage years were much more insane than that."

"Still," said Perry, "I can't have my best reporters constantly getting themselves into life-threatening situations. I might just have to put a partner on you."

"Perry," smirked Sam, "that didn't work the first time. Jimmy tried and he's not able to do anything of the sort to reign in my recklessness."

"True, which is why we're getting a new guy today and I'm going to assign him to you; just for the day as a trial period," added Perry hastily, noting Sam's aghast expression. "Sam please, you're going to give an old man a heart attack sooner or later."

"You can't do that Perry, it'll slow me down!" exclaimed Sam hotly.

"Nevertheless, a partner might keep you out of trouble, but help you at the same time." Perry shrugged. "He's from the Mississippi Chronicle, our sister company. He'll be arriving today. I want you to go pick him up."

Sam sighed at Perry's expression. There was no getting out of this. "All right. What's he look like?"

Perry reached into his desk and pulled out a photo. "Here."

Sam glanced at it. A glasses wearing, angle jawed man with vivid blue eyes. "Okay, I'll be off then." She headed out the door briskly before Perry could remember to tell her his name.

* * *

"This sucks Tucker, they're landing me with a partner. From Mississippi of all places," growled Sam into her phone as she waited for the man in the Amity International Airport. Amity had grown from a sleepy town into a decent sized city, large enough to incorporate a decent sized airport of their own.

_Well what do you want me to do Sam? He's your partner now,_ clipped the deep bass of Tucker Foley on the other end of the cell phone. Sam could hear him clicking away at a keyboard in his office at the mayor's office and heard the headset shift a little. Tucker hated headphones, claiming he was developing a better one. Thus, holding the handset. _Besides, maybe a partner won't be so bad._

"I dunno, those southerners are pretty biased," drawled Sam and she could feel Tucker level a stare at her. "Okay okay, I'm pulling up bad excuses and stereotypes for trying to get out of this. But you can't blame me, I've been working solo for the last couple of years on this."

_I know. Hey look, I have a city council meeting in a few minutes. Call me later and tell me how it goes; we'll probably meet up for supper afterwards. I'll even bring you to that new Ultra-Recyclo Vegetarian place you like so much. My treat. If you haven't gotten the urge to murder your partner and make him part of Amity's resident ghost squad, bring him over too._

"Thanks Tucker, that's so encouraging," drawled Sam but she was grinning.

**Flight 202 from Jackson, Mississippi now arriving at gate 2. All passengers disembarking from gate 2.**

"He's in," said Sam, "I'll call you later Tucker."

Snapping her cell phone shut, she straightened her simple black outfit, a skirt with leggings, combat boots and a sleeveless shirt with black jacket over her shoulders. She also wore a fake leather jacket that one of her co-workers gave to her as a gag gift one Staff Christmas Party, but Fall was setting in and it was getting cold.

The sea of people washed across gate two as Sam stood on her toes to look over the crowd. There, standing in the middle of the crowd was a broad shouldered man, dressed in a professional looking suit. Black hair, blue eyes, glasses and carrying a suitcase that literally carried the well-travelled postmark with numerous tags on it. Sam muscled her way through the crowd to where the man was muttering to himself.

"… sure has changed… hello?" he inquired of Sam who was standing in front of him, barely coming up to his chest. "Am I in your way?"

"Naw, it's okay, I'm here to pick you up. Sam Manson, the Amity Chronicle." Sam stuck her hand out and the man's brow furrowed. "Something wrong?"

"… Sam? That you?" inquired the man and Sam blinked, cocking her head to the side. Suddenly the man's expression erupted into a wide grin and he grabbed her with surprising strength, giving her a bear hug. "SAM!"

"Ow, hey!" exclaimed Sam, coughing. "Put me down!"

"Oh, sorry," said the man, setting her on her feet. "It's been so long since I saw you! It's me, Danny!"

Sam's eyes bugged out. This hugely broad-shouldered almost bear-like man was Danny Fenton? "DANNY?!" exclaimed Sam in shock. "Look at you!"

"Look at you!" laughed Danny, his voice deep and eyes twinkling happily. "You haven't changed a bit! Is that leather fake?"

Sam blushed, pulling the jacket around her shoulders a little more self-consciously. "Yeah, a co-worker gave it to me as a gag gift one Christmas, but it's a little nippy out there today. C'mon, I'll give you the grand tour."

"Amity's really changed," remarked Danny as he looked around the roadways that spiralled in and around Amity. It had bustled into a thriving city since he had left, the hallmarks of technology everywhere. Sam felt a little awkward calling Danny by his teenage name, but Danny said it was okay, and it felt homely.

"Yeah, Tucker really put a lot of money into the city," said Sam, turning left onto the main road. "After he opened the airport and his own locally based company T-Tech, Amity really boomed with the incoming traffic. I'm meeting him for dinner, wanna come along?"

"Sure, it'll be like old times," said Danny. "I still can't believe he's still MAYOR. I thought they woulda sacked him by now for something stupid." Sam giggled and Danny grinned. "C'mon, you know that Tucker tends to go overboard at times."

"So where are you staying?" inquired Sam curiously, diverting the conversation. "With your parents?"

"Actually yeah," replied Danny. "Mom and dad would like me back home for a while after travelling the world for several years. I've been renting an apartment in Jackson for a while when I was working with the Jackson Chronicle, but since then I've moved on. I knew mom couldn't resist a chance at getting her wayward son home for a while."

"That's great, at least we can hang out together as much as possible. Or rather crash Tucker's office once in a while," grinned Sam. "I have my own place, it's a little upscale, but it's like a botanists dream. Mom and dad insisted on paying for my place, but I insisted on decorating it the way I like it."

"So is it like a black and green décor?" inquired Danny, grinning.

"A little, mostly the bedroom. I don't like scaring the straights who come to visit. Mostly co-workers." Sam grinned savagely at the thought of it. "But I have my own greenhouse on the top floor. It's sort of an economically sound design as the complete glass roof provides lots of heat year round. "So what have you been doing all this time? I only get a letter or email once in a while."

"Yeah, I've been moving around a lot on my trips," said Danny. "Went to a lot of places; Argentina, Tibet, some of the little places that are almost out of the way. Most of the time I was without a way to send a letter or email. A lot of places didn't even have internet or much less electricity."

"Interesting," said Sam. "So, what about… the other stuff?"

Danny smiled and said, "You'll have to wait to see it, but over the years I've grown even stronger than before. Constant battle with Skulker will do that to a guy."

"So that's where Skulker vanished to," mused Sam. "For the most part, the worst we get is Technus running around. And the Box Ghost but he rarely counts."

"Yeah, it's mostly to keep me on my toes. Skulker doesn't like the idea of his prey getting soft. Even managed to surprise me several times." Danny grinned at the memory of some of those surprises. "Also he and I celebrated my Deathday a few times."

"Your what?" inquired Sam.

"Deathday, " said Danny. "Apparently ghosts celebrate the day they died. Skulker was celebrating his own when I busted in, and he invited me for cake. Since then, we make it a point every day on the day I got my powers to celebrate my Deathday. I think he misses the ghost zone's inhabitants, despite hunting me almost on a regular basis."

"What's a Deathday like?" asked Sam.

"Well, it's pretty much a birthday party," chuckled Danny. "Cake, ice cream, lots of presents. When it's just me and Skulker, we have a small dinner but sometimes the local ghosts join in the fray and make it a big party. I'm still the ghost zone's most popular ghost, good or bad."

"Same old Danny, at least the ego is still intact," chuckled Sam. "We're almost there. Need to pick up Tucker first before we go to eat."

* * *

"TUCKER!" crowed Danny, grabbing the tall black man in a hug. "You're bald."

Tucker pushed away from Danny, giving him a mock-glare. "Geez Danny, you're huge! Trying for the Superman-Clark Kent thing huh? And yes, I shaved my head."

"I've been trying to get him to grow the Evil Goatee without much success," quipped Sam, wiggling her fingers in quotation air notes. Tucker made a face.

"Well excuse me for not being Lex Luthor," snorted Tucker as he smoothed out his suit. "C'mon, let's get outta here and into a private room before someone recognises Danny Fenton."

"Well too late for that," remarked an amused voice as the trio turned to see Valerie Grey hovering overhead. The upgraded glider vanished into a fizzle of energy as she landed, pulling her helmet off to let waves of black hair fall over her shoulders. "Good to see you, Danny," she grinned, punching the bigger man on his arm. "I thought you'd show up sooner or later."

"Valerie! It's good to see you too," Danny exclaimed. "How's things here?"

"Aw, not too shabby," remarked Valerie as she tabbed a computer control on her wrist, the entire suit folding into it. "Like it? Foley upgraded it for me."

"It was an easy job," remarked Tucker with a hint of ego pride. "Wanna come along Valerie? We're headed to that restaurant Sam likes so much."

Valerie shrugged. "Eh, sure why not. My soy intake's been kinda low."

Piling into Sam's convertible, Danny sat in the back seat with Valerie while Sam took the wheel, Tucker claiming shotgun like old times. With the wind whistling in their faces and Sam's radio blaring, Danny turned to Valerie and asked, "So, how's life been?"

"Not too shabby Danny," replied Valerie. "After working at Nasty Burger for years, I finally got promoted to Assistant Manager. From there I climbed the ladder and ended up District Manager. I don't have to work behind the counter anymore if that's what you're thinking."

"She's really improved the food there too," called Sam over the whistling of the wind. "Bigger selection and higher quality."

"Three years running for best fast food restaurant in the world," grinned Valerie. "I finally moved me and dad back into a better house barely two years after you left."

"Wish I coulda seen it, but I was off in China for a while then," laughed Danny.

"So ghost boy, what's all on that side now?" inquired Valerie curiously, hitting on her old name for Danny's spectral half.

"Same old, same old," grinned Danny, "it's been pretty good all around, learning new things, learning new powers, the works. Ol' Skulk says hi, but he's off visiting his girlfriend."

"Skulker has a girlfriend?" inquired Sam as she pulled off the highway onto a side drag. "It's not Ember still, is it?"

"Aw, bro and sis can't seem to stop seeing each other," said Danny, earning curious looks. "What?"

"You just referred to Skulker and Ember as bro and sis," said Tucker. "Just how close are you three now?"

"Fairly," replied Danny as Sam pulled into the posh driveway, tossing the valet the keys to her car. "Skulker over the years has become pretty much the older brother I never had and Ember is actually pretty nice if you don't get her upset."

"Great, and they're both packing enough firepower to level buildings," said Tucker, rolling his eyes. "Tell me he still wants to skin you for the sake of old memories?"

Danny shrugged. "He says it's good training. Though if he does manage to kill me on one of these occasions, he said it had better be during my prime. I'm still gaining power right now. You should see what my Ghost Half looks like now."

"Your family is weird," stated Valerie as the four entered Chez Veggie.

* * *

"PULL!" cried Jack Fenton as something exploded downstairs, the moment Danny walked in the door, suitcases in hand.

"Aaaah, the sweet smell of burnt hair and ectoplasm. I've missed the house," grinned Danny, setting his luggage to the side. "Mom? Dad?"

"Down here, sweetie!" called out Maddie. Going intangible, Danny phased down into the lab where his mother gave him a bone-crushing hug as soon as he materialized. "oooh, I've missed my little baby!"

"Aw mom," said Danny, "I'm not a kid anymore!"

"But your father and I haven't seen you in years! Are you eating okay? Is your brother giving you trouble?"

"I'm eating just fine and Skulker says hi. Is Jazz home?"

"Not yet, but she's coming within the week," replied Maddie. "Jack, come over and talk to your son!"

"Look at you!" boomed Jack Fenton, lifting his welding face shield. "You look like a REAL man now! Come over here and test these new ghost gauntlets for me, would ya?" With all of the exuberance of a man half his age, Jack Fenton slammed his fists together in readiness, the giant metal gloves crackling with charged ectoplasm, seemingly retrieved them from nowhere.

Danny laughed. "Same old dad. Okay, but just this once. I'm going ghost!"

Rings of light parted from Danny's middle as it traveled upwards and down, revealing the huge mass of Danny Phantom. The hair, eyes and black and white hazmat suit were familiar as with the DP insignia on his chest. But no one had expected how HUGE Danny was, a massive Superman-like form with sculpted muscles, a strongly pointed jaw in comparison to his father's brick-like jaw, and the ethereal cape that fluttered behind him, seemingly living wisps of ghostly energy that trailed into the suit.

"SWEET!" proclaimed Jack. "You look more and more like a superhero son. C'mon, let's dance!" Without any other warning, Jack Fenton charged his son and the sounds of ghostly mayhem could be heard as Maddie wiped her eyes.

"It's nice to have the family back home."


End file.
